According to tradition, hundreds gathered in front of the old Hankow Customs House building, one of the city’s most popular New Year’s Eve venues. When the old clock in the building arrived at midnight, many people threw balloons in the air, cheered and shouted “happy new year.”
“I’m so incredibly happy,” said Yang Wenxuan, a 20-year-old student and tourist. “This is my first time in Wuhan. But (the countdown) was so spectacular.”
“I hope to be able to successfully get the bachelor’s degree and I hope to find a boyfriend,” Yang added.
The holidays came 12 months after the World Health Organization (WHO) said it first received news of cases of pneumonia of unknown cause in Wuhan, which later became known as the world’s first outbreak of Covid- 19.
A team of WHO experts is scheduled to arrive in China in January 2021 to investigate the origins of the pandemic.
Wuhan has been largely virus-free for months, and in recent days has been vaccinating some specific groups of the local population. But a small recent increase in cases in several Chinese cities, including Beijing, has reminded the people of Wuhan that the pandemic is not over yet.
“I hope that by 2021 everything will be fine in the country and Wuhan can return to normal and I hope that the world can defeat the pandemic soon,” said Anson Yang, a resident of Wuhan.
The 25-year-old, who works in the international trade sector, said his earnings were hard hit in 2020 and that he knows many companies in Wuhan that have not yet returned to normal trading levels.
Several students wanted to end the pandemic so they could continue face-to-face studies. A college student, however, drew some positive lessons from the fight against the pandemic.
“If we look at the measures that people took, the things that people were doing as part of controlling the epidemic and the like, everyone felt a human or kind touch, something we wouldn’t normally see,” said a 21-year-old. years Chen Mengfan.